Reporting

The perils of pregnancy in a country where abortion is a crime – in pictures

May 27, 2017
| Nadia Shira Cohen | Guardian

In El Salvador, one of six countries where abortion is banned under any circumstances, women have been told to avoid pregnancy due to the Zika virus. With support from the International Women’s Media Foundation, photographer Nadia Shira Cohen captures their stories in her series Yo no di a Luz.

All photographs by Nadia Shira Cohen

In Panchimalco, the annual Palms Festival includes a procession of the Virgin Mary through the town’s narrow streets, attracting people from all over the country who come to idolise her. Pregnant women in El Salvador face numerous challenges; the threat of the mosquito-borne illness, Zika, which has been linked to microcephaly in newborns; the constant threat of gang violence with one of the highest murder rates in the world; and increasing occurrences of rape.Photograph: Nadia Shira Cohen

Sanitation workers from the community health clinic in Santa Tecla fumigate houses, streets, sewers and schools against mosquitos as part of a government programme to fight mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya. The most serious threat to women’s reproductive rights, however, is the state’s ban on abortion. El Salvador is one of just six countries in the world – including Nicaragua, Chile, The Vatican, Malta and the Dominican Republic – where abortion is banned under any circumstances, and the only one which pursues and prosecutes women who have a termination.Photograph: Nadia Shira Cohen

About the Author

Nadia Shira Cohen

Nadia Shira Cohen is a freelance photojournalist contributing to the New York Times, National Geographic, Harpers and many international publications. She works frequently in Latin America as well as countries… Read More.